August 31
by Hane-Kuriboh22
Summary: He never told anyone about his birthday. To him, it was just a waste of breath. No one would remember anyway. Why get his hopes up? They'd been crushed way too many times before so he would spend his birthday the same way he had always spent it. Alone...Right? Pre Dark World. Judai/Johan friendship fluff


**Hello~ This is the first story of mine to be posted on Fanfiction. Please give me your honest opinion, but be nice. I can take critique and will use it to improve my writing, but that does not give you the right to be flat out mean.**

**The cake Johan made in this story is something I have made in real life. If you want easy instructions on how to do it, you can message me and I will answer as soon as possible.**

**EDIT: I edited some MORE grammar and things, rewrote some sentences, and all around fixed it up a bit ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

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Sun filtered through the window landing on a certain Slifer red duelist's face. Judai opened his eyes with a groan and blinked a few times. He sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. A grin found its way on Judai's face as he looked towards the window of his room. He stood up from his bed, stretching slightly, and walked to the window. He pulled the curtains aside, flung the window open, and breathed in a gulp of fresh air. "Today is gonna be a great day!" Judai exclaimed to no one in particular. He was alone in his room at the moment for one reason or another. Judai smiled to himself as he got ready for the day. His thoughts raced with plans. Laughing and messing around with his friends, maybe poking at Manjoume, that was always fun. Hane Kuriboh appeared, trilling away about something. Judai laughed and nodded to the small duel spirit. "Of course we're going to see Johan and Ruby. You and Ruby really like playing, huh?" Judai asked the small spirit. Hane Kuriboh bounced around happily when he mentioned Ruby's name. Judai continued laughing at his spirit's excitement. He loved seeing Hane Kuriboh all excited about something. The spirit's energy gave Judai a bunch energy as well. He looked at his deck box fondly for a moment, deciding to ask Johan for a duel later. Judai walked towards the door ready to leave, glancing at his calendar to check the date. His whole body froze. Judai slowly moved his head to look at the date again. His back found quickly found a wall and he slid down until he was sitting. He buried his face in his hands. "Oh no," Judai groaned out softly. August 31. His birthday. Judai despised his birthday. Hane Kuriboh floated over quietly, watching Judai with a concerned look. "Kuri Kuri~?" Judai looked up at the spirit, faking a small smile. "It's fine, partner. I'm just suddenly not feeling well. I think I'll stay in bed today. Sorry about Ruby," Judai said sadly, getting up and flopping down on his bed. He kicked his shoes off and curled up under his blanket. He hoped he could just fall back asleep, but after finding out that it was his birthday, his mind decided to become a home movie theater and revisit all of his past birthdays. There wasn't much to remember. Just the same scene repeated, yet at a different year and age. Judai sitting at a table, all by himself. His parents too busy, again, to come home. The cake he always ate with the one birthday candle sticking out of it never tasted sweet. It was bitter. Forever bitter. Judai blinked his eyes annoyed. Stop thinking and just go to sleep he told himself. "Maybe I can sleep the day away," he mumbled quietly before slipping into unconsciousness. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Judai's eyes snapped open. There was someone knocking on his door and loudly too. "Judai! I know you're in there! So wake up and come open the door!" Johan called between knocks. Judai sat up sharply checking to see the time. 7:00. Wow he slept a long time. He got slowly and wandered to the door. When did he lock it? Judai fumbled with the lock for a moment before finally opening it. Johan stood there smiling, hands on his hips. Judai yawned. "What's up, Johan?" He asked momentarily forgetting about his birthday. "Have you been sleeping all day?" Johan asked slightly annoyed. Judai stared at Johan, for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. He thought back to this morning. He stopped himself from moaning. Moaning would only tip-off Johan that something was wrong. If that happened all hell would break loose. "Yeah. Sorry. I must have been really tired," Judai laughed nervously while reaching up to rub the back of his neck. Johan stared at Judai suspiciously. Judai gulped and decided to change the subject. "Where is everybody else?" Johan broke his gaze and huffed out a breath. "Captain Thunder," Judai giggled softly at the name Johan had dubbed Manjoume, "decided to throw a party up at the Obelisk blue dorms. That's where everybody's at," Judai gave Johan a strange look. "Then why are you here?" "I haven't seen you all day and I wanted to hang out with you," Judai smiled softly. He was about to invited Johan in when suddenly Johan grabbed his wrist and tugged him towards the door. Judai made a small noise and stumbled for a few steps before regaining his balance. Johan laughed and continued to pull on Judai's arm. "What? What!" Judai asked "Just come here, I want to show you something," Judai pouted, but let himself be pulled downstairs towards the Slifer cafeteria. Johan stopped right in front of the door and turned to Judai. "Close your eyes," he commanded. Judai looked puzzled. "Why do I have to close my eyes?" Johan sighed. "Just do it, Judai. Please?" Judai rolled his eyes before closing them. Judai heard Johan open the door and pull him inside, careful not to make him fall. Johan led Judai for a bit more before pushing him down into a seat. "Can I open my eyes yet?" "Nope! Not yet." Judai heard Johan walk away and then come back. After a few moments Johan hummed. "Okay Judai. You can open your eyes," Judai opened his eyes slowly. He gave an audible gasp. The lights were off and in front of Judai sat a cake with lit candles and Happy Birthday written across the top. Judai turned to Johan mouth opening to voice his questions, but Johan hushed him. "Make a wish first. Then we can talk," Johan smiled encouragingly. Judai turned around, still half in shock, and blew out the candles, subconsciously making the same wish he made every year. Johan clapped and cheered before jogging over to turn the lights back on and then plopping into the seat across from Judai. Judai's eyes were watering and he was trying not to tear up and cry. Sadly, he was failing miserably. "H-How did you know?" Johan blinked. "What do you mean how did I know? You told me. One of the days we were hanging out on the roof. We were playing questions remember? I asked you when your birthday was and you told me August 31st. That's today right?" Judai nodded slowly. Johan looked at Judai, a smile on his face as he opened his mouth to say something. He promptly snapped it shut, though, when he saw the tears cascading down Judai's cheeks. Judai felt such a rush of emotions he didn't know what else to do, but cry. He slid off the chair and to the floor, pulling his knees up and burying his face into his arms. Judai couldn't stop the sobbing fit that had started. He was gasping loudly and trying to quiet himself. When he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, he forced himself to look up. Johan's emerald eyes focused on his face, concern and worry shining through. "Judai," He said softly. He began smoothing back his friend's hair repeatedly. Judai's gasping quieted and the steady stream of tears slowed. He leaned towards Johan, letting his head fall on the other's shoulder. Johan kept one arm around Judai's shoulders and brought his free hand up to the other's face to wipe away the excess moisture. They stayed in that like that for some time. After a while Judai couldn't take the silence anymore so he started talking. He began talking on about how much he hated his birthday. He told stories of past birthdays he had spent alone and how people would forget about his birthday. He told Johan that he gave up on telling people. He never told his friends either. It was just a waste of breath to him. He just keep talking until his throat hurt and the entire time Johan sat there, nodding and listening. He never said a word. He just listened. When Judai finally stopped talking he felt exhausted. He had stopped crying by this point and just had a dull pounding in his head. Judai looked at Johan to find him looking back. Johan smiled. "Want cake?" Judai stared at him before laughing. Johan stood up, pulling Judai up with him and walked over to the cake. He went off to find a knife as Judai sat down and looked at the cake. It was simple; just a white iced cake with chocolate writing. Johan appeared a moment later carrying a knife. "I really hope you like it. I made it myself this morning," Judai cast Johan a look. "You can bake?" Johan rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You got a problem with that?" "Are you good at baking?" Johan blinked a few times. "I'd say I'm good. Though this cake is special and the first time I've made it," Johan sliced a good-sized piece off. Judai's eyes widened as he saw the interior of the cake. It was six thin layers, each a different color, making a rainbow. It was beautiful. "Oh wow, Johan. This is amazing! How did you do it?" Judai asked as he examined the cake. Johan smiled proudly. "It was Sapphire's idea. It was real easy. You just need six cake pans and food coloring," Johan explained. Judai took a bite. It tasted amazing. It was the best cake he'd ever had. "You should become a baker. It's delicious," "Thank you! I'm glad you like it," They ate the rest of their cake in silence. Once both finished, Johan snapped his fingers together. "Present time!" Judai almost spit out the drink he was downing. He coughed a few times before being able to speak. "W-What do you mean present time?!" Johan laughed while rummaging through his backpack which had appeared out of no where. "Yup! Present time!" Johan tossed a small package over to Judai who caught it. Judai shot a look at Johan who shrugged before turning his gaze back to the gift. He pulled off the small ribbon that wound around it. The box itself was kinda heavy. Judai untied the bow and ripped the paper off slowly. Underneath was a plain white box. Judai looked up at Johan confuse. Johan nodded telling him to keep going. Judai looked back down and pried the lid off. Inside sat a fairly good-sized opal. Judai stared at it. It was just the stone, big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Judai lifted it out of the box and stared at it. It reminded him of something. "Neo Space. It looks like Neo Space. That's really cool," Judai said admiring the gem. Johan walked over and sat across from Judai. "That's why I got it. It looks like Neo Space. Also you can remember me by it. Since I have the Gem Beast and all," Judai looked over at Johan. "Yeah. It'll help me remember the best birthday I've ever had," Judai sad absent-mindedly. Judai stood up slowly, placing the gem back in its box. "Thank you, Johan. You don't know how much this all means to me," Johan got up and walked over to Judai, wrapping him in a warm embrace. "Your welcome, Judai. Anything for my best friend. I'll always be here for you. You know that right?" Judai returned the hug, nodding. He would remember this day forever. He would find a way to make it up Johan one day, but for now he wanted to live in this moment a little longer.


End file.
